Georgia's economy and how it spends or doesn't spend tax dollars have become hot rhetoric in the neck-and-neck governor’s race between incumbent Republican Nathan Deal and Democratic challenger Jason Carter.

By April Hunt. Published on Wednesday, October 22nd, 2014 at 12:00 p.m.

Nothing says state politics in Georgia like foreign policy issues, right?
That's at least the case in the governor's race this year between incumbent Republican Nathan Deal and Democratic challenger Jason Carter.
As the two candidates duel over education and the economy, the question of support for Israel has come up more than once. PolitiFact Georgia looks at one recent case - and explains why the complicated matter has surfaced.

With Tuesday's runoff in the rearview mirror, election watchers now turn their attention to November.
One of the most highly contested rates will be that of governor, with incumbent Republican Nathan Deal facing Jason Carter, a Democrat from Atlanta.
PolitiFact Georgia is keeping close tabs on the close race. Already we have checked some claims in the race, especially on the key battleground issue of education.

PolitiFact Georgia is the non-partisan fact-checking operation of The Atlanta Journal Constitution, which attempts to parse political truth from political fiction.
Our fact-checkers have been keeping a close eye on Georgia’s candidates for office as the May 20 Primary Election nears.

PolitiFact attempts to parse political truth from political fiction.
We find plenty of fiction. But it’s important to remember that PolitiFact Georgia also discovers that politicians and power brokers sometimes hit the nail squarely on the head.
PolitiFact Georgia published more than 240 fact checks in 2013,and 37 of those rated True on the AJC Truth-O-Meter. That compared with 26 that were rated False and 17 that earned our lowest designation, Pants On Fire. The remainder fell in the Mostly True, Half True and Mostly False categories.
Today we look at our favorite fact checks of 2013 where the politicians got it right.
To comment on our rulings or suggest one of your own, go to our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/politifact.georgia).
Full versions of the fact checks can be found at: www.politifact.com/georgia/.
You can also find us on Twitter (http://twitter.com/politifactga) or @politifactga.

By Jim Tharpe. Published on Wednesday, December 25th, 2013 at 6:00 a.m.

As the referendum on a tax to fund transportation projects for metro Atlanta nears, our fact check tally rises.
Your PolitiFact Georgia scribes have completed nearly two dozen fact checks on Tuesday's referendum, which has made bedfellows out of earstwhile enemies. The Sierra Club has joined forces with members of Georgia's Tea Party to oppose the measure, while Chamber of Commerce-types have allied with sustainability advocates to rally for it.
Want to comment on our findings? It's easy. Just go to our Facebook page and hit the "like" button. And you are free to express yourself, pro or con.
Those for and against the one-percent tax increase say that the facts and figures are on their side. Sometimes they are. Other times they aren’t.
We'll tell you who's right in this roundup of our rulings.
And check back soon. We'll post more as we write new stories.
Here’s how both sides have fared so far:

A state investigation that confirmed reports of widespread cheating at Atlanta Public Schools sent politicians into full spin mode. Last week, PolitiFact Georgia found some of those pols were well worth a fact check -- or two.
The Truth-O-Meter first put former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin to the test. She said ex- Superintendent Beverly Hall, who was implicated in the scandal, left APS better than she found it. Franklin earned another check when she said that only a small percentage of district educators were involved in cheating.
Midweek, PolitiFact Georgia took a break from education matters to see whether Gov. Nathan Deal fulfilled a promise on zero-based budgeting. Then we aimed the Truth-O-Meter at state Rep. Ralph Long, who laid some of the blame for APS cheating at the feet of Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed.
How did politicians fare? Read shortened versions of these fact checks below.
To comment on our findings, hit the "like" button on our Facebook page. You can also follow us on Twitter.

Trust your Truth-O-Meter and Deal-O-Meter to master topics as different as fiscal responsibility, President Ronald Reagan and landfill waste.
Last week, the Truth-O-Meter examined an attack that blamed two Democratic congressmen from Georgia for the nation’s fiscal problems.
It also performed a second check of former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s knowledge of Reagan history. The Republican presidential candidate keeps name-dropping the conservative hero. Now, he’s comparing himself to him.
To top it off, the Deal-O-Meter rated a promise by Gov. Nathan Deal that he will reduce landfill waste.
Watch out. PolitiFact Georgia’s a quick study.
To comment on our findings, hit the "like" button on our Facebook page. You can also follow us on Twitter.

PolitiFact Georgia sent the Truth-O-Meter on assignment last week. Its destination: the past.
It traveled to the civil rights era to assess whether Birmingham was truly the "cradle of the civil rights movement." It visited President Ronald Reagan’s successful 1980 campaign to check a claim by former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and stopped during Reconstruction’s early days to look at similarities between current Georgia immigration laws and the infamous Black Codes.
Then our gizmo, ever tireless, roved the fields of current-day South Georgia to check out a pilot program that uses probationers to ease a labor shortage. Abbreviated versions of those fact-checks can be found below.
Want to comment on our findings? Just hit the "like" button on our Facebook page. You can also follow us on Twitter.

Presidential campaign politics put the Truth-O-Meter on overdrive.
Two of Georgia’s sons are angling for the 2012 Republican nomination for president, and they gave us plenty of fodder last week. We took on statements by former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich on government waste and right-to-work states, and former radio host and Godfather’s Pizza CEO Herman Cain on Islamic law.
We also marked a milestone. The Deal-O-Meter handed Gov. Nathan Deal his first "Promise Broken." Deal accepted a perk from Delta airline, which broke his policy on accepting gifts.
Hit the "like" button on our Facebook page to comment on our rulings. You can also follow us on Twitter.

Break out the bubbly. Despite the best efforts of politicians, PolitiFact Georgia has made it to its first birthday.
The Truth-O-Meter had a colorful inaugural year. We covered 2010 midterm election high jinks, the struggling economy, the Georgia immigration debate and even a claim about zombies at the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. Political luminaries such as former Gov. Roy Barnes registered their discontent publicly.
You were kind enough to read our work- - especially on zombies and presidential candidate Herman Cain, according to our top five list of fact checks by Web page views:
1. The Walking Dead: In the case of a catastrophic event, the Atlanta-area offices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will self-destruct. Dec. 5, 2010
2. NFL Players Association: A National Football League lockout would cost Atlanta $160 million in lost jobs and revenue. Nov. 22, 2010
3. U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano: "Very, very, very few people get a pat-down" when they go through airport security, May 7, 2011
4. Herman Cain: In the U.S. Constitution, "there’s a little section in there that talks about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." May 21, 2011
5. Herman Cain: Said Planned Parenthood’s early objective was to "help kill black babies before they came into the world." March 15, 2011
And now, to celebrate, here’s a sampling of a few of our more memorable fact-checks.
Want to comment on our findings? Hit the "like" button on our Facebook page to join the discussion. You can also follow us on Twitter.

PolitiFact Georgia has you covered on homeland security.
The Obama administration trumpeted its reputation on border security recently, so last week, we checked claims about Transportation and Security Administration pat-downs and the border fence.
We also switched on our Deal-O-Meter to check whether Gov. Nathan Deal’s signature on Arizona-style immigration enforcement legislation means he kept a campaign promise.
For variety, we checked Deal on a claim about the cost of childhood obesity and presidential prospect Newt Gingrich on President Barack Obama and food stamps.
Want to comment on our findings? Hit the "like" button on our Facebook page to join the discussion. You can also follow us on Twitter.

Last week, the trusty Truth-O-Meter took on everyone from President Barack Obama to a metro Atlanta Republican flirting with a presidential run to a University of Georgia student activist.
And we threw in the governor for good measure.
You can find our fearless engine of truthiness Sunday through Friday in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and online.
Want to comment on our findings? Find our Facebook page and hit the "like" button to join the discussion. You can also follow us on Twitter.

PolitiFact Georgia had a week of extremes.
The Truth-O-Meter dished out one Mostly True and a True to the head of a conservation group on water issues and prospective GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich on prisons. The Deal-O-Meter ruled Gov. Nathan Deal was making progress on a promise he made about the Race to the Top education program.
Then the Truth-O-Meter lit Georgia presidential prospect Herman Cain’s Pants on Fire. He claimed Planned Parenthood was started to kill black babies before they were born.
The Obameter gave a "Promise Broken" to President Barack Obama’s on foreclosure prevention.
Want to comment on our findings? Go to our Facebook page and hit the "like" button to join the discussion. You can also follow us on Twitter.

By Willoughby Mariano
PolitiFact Georgia cares about your health.
Our proof is this week’s Truth-O-Meter rulings, which covered a promise by Gov. Nathan Deal on health insurance, federal funding for reproductive health services and a statement conservative pundit Ann Coulter made on whether radiation can be good for you.
Thinking about sticking your head into the nearest X-ray machine? Read our roundup first.
And for variety’s sake, read our items about rising gas prices and whether the HOPE scholarship helped improve Georgia’s public universities, too.
Want to comment on our findings? Just go to our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/politifact.georgia) and hit the "like" button to join in the discussion. You can also follow us on Twitter (http://twitter.com/politifactga). You can find the entire fact-checks at our PolitiFact Georgia online site.

From Sunday booze to overpriced oil, from streetcars to schools, PolitiFact Georgia’s Truth-O-Meter covered it all last week.
Were you curious whether loosening restrictions on Sunday alcohol sales would lead to more drunken driving? Did Gov. Nathan Deal’s changes to the popular HOPE scholarship make Georgia stingy on education? Is President Barack Obama doing enough to keep oil prices down?
Is there anything the Truth-O-Meter can’t do?
Want to comment on our findings? Just go to our Facebook page and hit the "like" button to join in the discussion. You can also follow us on Twitter.

Last week, PolitiFact Georgia did its fair share of cluck-clucking.
Claims about a proposed immigration measure, a reading of the U.S. Constitution by the backer of a "birther" bill and a take on federal law about the U.S. Supreme Court all ruffled the Truth-O-Meter’s feathers.
We also updated the progress Gov. Nathan Deal made on his promise to end the Ga. 400 tolls and discerned whether a candidate for Gwinnett County chairman was a faux chicken farmer -- the accuser laid an egg on that one.
Have something to say about our rulings? Squawk away on our Facebook page or tweet our successes or failings on Twitter.

How to contact us

We want to hear your suggestions and comments. For tips or comments on our campaign promise database, please e-mail the Obameter. If you are commenting on a specific promise, please include the promise number. For comments about our Truth-O-Meter or Flip-O-Meter items, please e-mail the Truth-O-Meter. We’re especially interested in seeing any chain e-mails you receive that you would like us to check out. If you send us a comment, we'll assume you don't mind us publishing it unless you tell us otherwise.